Anyone who regularly trawls through Australian Xbox Community websites such as XboxZone.com.au would have heard of the name ‘Blue Dingo’. A Halo fanatic if there ever was one, Blue Dingo’s passion for everything Halo is matched only by his capacity to scrounge the internet for any tidbit and morsel of Halo and Bungie news and post it up for everyone to share. We caught up with Blue Dingo to see what it’s like in the day of the life of Australia’s (Unofficial) Biggest Halo Fan!

FTF: G’day Blue Dingo! Thanks for taking the time to talk to us. For starters, can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about who you are, what you do, and most importantly, what your gamertag is!

BD: G’day Jooney! Well, my alter ego’s name is Davis Beutler, he’s not much of a person, I’m the real deal! My gamertag is BlueDingo5. If you’re asking how I came up with the number five, when I originally wanted to create Blue Dingo, it was already taken (shock) so I used the 5 because my elite character in Halo 2 had the number five, as recommended by a wise differential hue dingo. I guess I’m a pretty normal 16 year old, expect for a certain video game with a large ring and fighting aliens.

FTF: Can you tell us how you got the name ‘Blue Dingo’? It sounds very familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it …

BD: You’d believe so, wouldn’t you? Maybe because of Red Dingo a few years back, introducing me to Halo, as some say was the point where “My life was ruined” or “Now he’ll never achieve his goal of Prime Minister”. But yes, shortly after pre-ordering Halo 2, I christened myself Blue Dingo, as I wanted Red to get some proud feelings weltering up inside him (and maybe shut him up with the jokes). “Who said that?” Kidding Red!

FTF: So how did you first get involved with Halo?

BD: Red was the one who introduced it to me, he is my music teacher, and after one particular lesson he asked me if I had heard of the Xbox quite a number of years ago. When I said yes, he asked me to follow him into his cave-like room. There, he asked had I played a game called Halo before, and after saying no, I sat and watched for a good two hours while he tried to get past two hunters on Truth and Reconciliation, on Legendary. That little trend started every Tuesday night after lessons, which I am now here today, as I am.

FTF: And what was one of your best Halo experiences?

BD: Hmmm, there’s been so many. But there’s one that always come to mind, and that would have to be the first LAN I went to at Game On Interactive. Red Dingo, his brother Pooman and I played off against the Drop Bears. Our last game of the day was CTF on Hang 'Em High, with two minutes to go, Blue Team had just taken our flag, and was about to score. The flag carrier had a guard behind him, so I threw a plasma grenade and stuck him. As for the flag carrier, he was a t least 3 meters from the checkpoint, so I grab a nearby sniper and headshot him, the flag drops down two levels, right next to where one of my teammates were. That moment, the sound level in that room raised at least 100db.

FTF: Are you involved with any Halo clans?

BD: I was involved in a few on Xbox connect/ Xlink Kai; they were called the Wizards of Oz. These days, I’m just keen on playing with friends and having a good time. Since I currently do not own an Xbox 360 console, I never had the chance to organize a clan, and I never really knew any people who were serious about it either.

FTF: Now, a lot of people around these parts love Halo, but are more of the competitive nature; they attend tournaments, play online etc. However, you are more of a general fan. You love the single player campaigns, the story, the Halo books, and the lore. Is this correct?

BD: Yes, that is correct, but the thing I most love is the music, composed by the amazing Martin O’Donnell.

FTF: So what is it about the Halo universe you find so compelling?

BD: Hmmm, well I would have to narrow it down to two possibilities. The first would be that Bungie based the halo series from the Alien quadrilogy, which I love also. But the most important thing for me was that I never like Sci-Fi because movies like Star Wars and others showed an inaccurate or totally random outlook of the future. However Halo, even though it is set five hundred years into the future, shows to me an accurate representation of humanities future. Because even though it’s futuristic, it’s believable.

FTF: It seems to me that some video games are liked by people. But then every now and again a rare game such as Halo comes across that earns fans. Would you agree with this statement?

BD: Definitely yes! Masterpieces like the first Age of Empires, Command and Conquer and even though I shouldn’t even be mentioning Sony in this, but to me Gran Turismo 2 and the first three Spyro games (the ones by Insomniac) were either totally original, challenging or designed so perfectly that the game just, worked!

FTF: So what do you think Bungie have done to earn this level of respect and adoration? What sets them and their game apart from other developers and their games?

BD: Well, Bungie has always had their fans, with Myth, Oni and Marathon. But I believe because Microsoft had chosen to use Halo as a launch title, persuaded people to play the game, and then they could see that Bungie had created something that was just, perfect. The storyline, design, feel etc. It was all brilliant, something that few game companies have been able to accomplish.

FTF: So right now it would be understatement of the year to say that you are looking forward to Halo 3. What aspect of Halo 3 are you most looking forward to?

BD: WELL DUH! I haven’t been able to narrow it down to one, the most I can go is two, but they would be Co-Op with four people, and listening to Marty’s new lineup for my ears to get deafened by.

FTF: What did you think of the Halo 3 Beta that was released earlier this year?

BD: To be honest, I was pleased to see that Bungie had gone back to the Halo 1 roots, and even though some things I didn’t like, these were fixed by Bungie so that the final build can be awesome.

FTF: Of the maps that you have seen and played, which do you think is, or will be, your favourite?

BD: Out of every available map I’ve seen, the three best I think is still all from Halo 1, and they are Gephyrophobia, Rat Race and Chiron. I haven’t seen enough of the Halo 3 maps to make a decision.

FTF: What is your honest opinion on the introduction of Gadgets in Halo 3 (such as the Bubble Shield, Power Drainer and Portable Grav Lift)?

BD: I believe they are going to make a fundamental change in the way we play, mainly in campaign. The fact that Brutes are able to detect you, either by sight or sound, will alter the way you play. For example, you can kill one brute; the other will drop a bubble shield or a power drainer. In the time you take to wait until the bubble or drainer depletes, that would have been enough time for a jackal sniper to come or a brute to sneak around back and stick you.

FTF: If you could invent your own gadget, what would it be?

BD: My gadget would be a mixture of all of them. But the choice would be random. That could bring a change to a match, for example, if it was V.I.P, you would pick up that gadget, and hope to god it was a bubble shield for the V.I.P, instead, it was a power drainer. Or if you were playing oddball, you pick it up and deploy it hoping to be a recharger, instead, it’s a trip mine, but you deploy the gadget while an incoming warthog full of people is coming to get you and that skull.


FTF: Which lucky three people will you be playing the single player campaign co-operatively with?
Note: the correct answer mentions the word ‘Jooney’ somewhere in the sentence.

BD: Hmmm. Jooney, Jooney and Jooney! Haha! Seriously, it would be Jooney, also Red Dingo (I owe it to him) and my best friend DezRox.


FTF: Let’s move on to other aspects of Halo other than the games. You’ve read all the Halo books, correct?

BD: Yes I have, and loved them! Also the comics including, the Graphic Novel and Halo Uprising.

FTF: When I first saw the Believe commercials, one of the thoughts that ran through my head was “Damn, I need to see this diorama in real life”. Now if this crazy pipe dream of mine came true, and Australian’s had a chance to check the diorama out, would you come with me?